Detailed Analysis of the Travel Patterns of Rail Users in Sydney

Rail is a critical transport mode for travel in large cities, especially for journeys to and from the CBD. Analysis of travel surveys commonly report aggregate statistics such as mode shares by purpose. These aggregate statistics provide an overview of the level of rail usage, however much more detailed analysis is needed to answer questions such as: • Do the access mode shares to rail vary by distance from the CBD? • What proportion of the total journey distance is by rail? • What proportion of people travel to their nearest station? • How far are people travelling to access their rail station? • What proportion of people who use rail for their outward journeys from home also use rail for their return journey? • Do people use the same mode for access for their outward journey as their egress mode for the return journey? This paper analyses data from the Sydney Household Travel Survey to answer the above questions for rail users in Sydney. Rather than just looking at single estimates the analysis will look at distributions recognising that people have a variety of travel patterns.